Woman held in probe into Tube shooting leak

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the leak of documents from the investigation into the death of Jean-Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian electrician wrongly shot by police as a terrorist suspect after the London bombings in July.

Leicestershire Constabulary was asked, as an outside authority, to investigate the leak after ITV News ran details of the inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the shooting at Stockwell underground station on 22 July.

The leaked documents showed that police statements immediately after the shooting were misleading, including comments made by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair.

Blair initially claimed that police had shouted a warning before approaching Menezes, but the documents said this was not the case. They also contradicted early reports that the Brazilian was wearing a bulky jacket that could have hidden explosives and that he jumped the ticket barrier at the stations. The police did not admit these reports were misleading until after the leak.

The details of the documents, which were broadcast on ITV News on 16 August, showed that Menezes was wearing a light denim jacket and jeans, that he used his Oyster card to pass through the ticket barrier and that no warning was issued before he was shot.

The Leicestershire force confirmed that the woman was arrested at one of several London addresses searched on Wednesday. It is not known if she is an employee of the IPCC or ITV News. Neither organisation would comment last night.

Shami Chakrabati, director of civil rights campaigners Liberty said: 'We must hope that the investigation into the shooting itself is being pursued with at least as much rigour as these leak inquiries.'

On 26 August the IPCC announced its own inquiry into the 'unauthorised disclosure of material by IPCC personnel' in connection with the Menezes shooting. It is being carried out by Bill Taylor, former Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland.